Allahabad HC orders UP Police to protect same-sex couple in live-in relationship
Allahabad High Court directs Uttar Pradesh Police to protect an inter-faith same-sex couple, holding that live-in relationships are a fundamental right.
The Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh Police to ensure the safety of an inter-faith same-sex couple living together, holding that the absence of marital recognition does not entitle anyone to threaten their dignity or physical safety.
Justice Gautam Chowdhary said the two women are free to live together peacefully, without interference from family members or anyone else. The court issued the direction while hearing a plea by the couple, whose counsel said both faced a threat to their lives from relatives and needed police protection immediately.
The State government's counsel opposed the plea, arguing that same-sex relationships run against what he described as the natural and traditional framework of society and are not accepted.
After speaking to the couple, the court recorded that both are adults and had chosen to live together without pressure, fear or undue influence. Relying on Supreme Court precedent, it held that two adult citizens who decide to share a life together are exercising a fundamental right.
No family member, relative or section of society, the court said, has any legal right to disrupt their physical liberty. It directed that if any obstacle arises to the relationship, the police must step in and provide security after verifying that the couple are adults and are living together voluntarily.
The order is dated September 14.